Proverbs 26:16 English Standard Version (ESV) The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

My guess would be that this verse in proverbs is rarely quoted. A few days ago I mentioned that we all need to be careful of following the dog that has no sense of what he is chasing. They bark loud and appear confident.

This proverb seems to be insulting. Is it insulting to answer sensibly? No, of course not, but it isn’t going to change the mind of the loud and proud. Neither is it comely to bark back loudly.

Proverbs 15:1 English Standard Version (ESV) A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

I have seen this quote many times but had not connected it to Proverbs 26:16 until just now. As I looked into the word used for sluggard in 26:16 I discovered that it is actually a variant spelling in the Hebrew. The primary definition is indolent. The modern definition of indolent leads us to the understanding that the indolent want to avoid activity or exertion. In this case they have not challenged what they have been told because it is not in their nature.

In terms of the hound, their only recourse to reason is to bark louder. You cannot reason with a hound that has been bred to be louder. The volume of error does not make for truth. The real issue in this case is to understanding the breeding cycle. It is not the hounds fault that he was bred to howl.

Romans 1:21-22 (ESV) For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

They were allowed to breed, which is why we encounter the indolent.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This is God’s perfect love.

For the longest time I compared my ability to love against this standard. I failed and felt ashamed that I could not love perfectly. When Jesus told us to love one another He used the word agapao rather than agape. This is what Vine’s Expository Encyclopedia says about the verb form of agapao.

“Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son. But obviously this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any

excellency in its objects. It was an exercise of the Divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself.”

Note the careful wording there; “it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects”. While Christ dwells in my heart by faith, nothing I do releases that love. “Made without assignable cause” tells me that God’s divine will exercises His agape love thru His agapao, as a noun, His beloved. No failure on my part can hinder the will of God.

Fear of failure is a tool of the enemy of the Cross. Satan feeds on fear within Christians. Satan’s only aim here is to keep us on tilt. Being kept off balance we are more likely to stumble. If we should fall Satan is right there to glare down on us, “See, you are not good enough.”

Fear of failure produces selfish interest.